


Another Spell

by eldee



Category: Once Upon a Time (2011)
Genre: F/F, Yuletide 2011, dub-con in a spell-made-them-do-it sort of way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 06:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/292432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eldee/pseuds/eldee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a second spell is worked over the town of Storybrooke, everyone thinks Emma and Regina are a couple raising their son together.  Everyone, that is, except for Henry. [Written post-1.05, will not contain canon that airs after that.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Spell

**Author's Note:**

  * For [impertinence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/impertinence/gifts).



> I plotted and wrote most of this fic after watching 1.05, but before 1.06/1.07, so I like to think it sort of just slides in between the events of 1.05 and 1.06, and might be easier to read keeping that in mind. :)
> 
> Happy Holidays, impertinence, I hope you enjoy! (Also, thanks to L & L for the read-through and beta!)

Emma woke to the sound of someone walking around the room, and suddenly the blinds were thrown open, sunlight spilling across her face.

She moaned and rolled over, trying to hide in the soft pillow. In the next moment, it was pulled from underneath her, and she hit the mattress nose first.

"Hhhmph," she groaned, sounding muffled. Turning over, she pushed strands of hair out of her face and blinked open her eyes against the morning light. She sighed and wiggled her way up so that she was leaning on her elbows. Unamused, she said, "That was unnecessary."

"You'll be late," Regina replied crisply. She threw the pillow to the other side of the bed.

"The alarm clock hasn't gone off yet," Emma said, head thumping back down. She tried to burrow underneath the soft duvet again, but Regina grabbed it and pulled it down.

“This is definitely where Henry gets it from,” Regina complained, unrelenting.

Emma flailed, trying to get it back, but she was interrupted by the sound of the alarm going off loudly.

Regina smirked down at her. "There you go," she said. "And now you really will be late, because you didn’t set it early enough."

"Yeah, yeah," Emma said. She got out of bed, pulling her white sleeping tank down over her stomach and adjusting the soft blue pajama pants. Of course, Regina was already up and ready for the day, hair perfect and lipstick immaculate. As she walked past, Emma reached out and ran a hand over Regina's belly, the silk blouse smooth against her palm. Regina quickly caught her fingers, like an aborted movement to push her away, but kept them tight in her hand.

Emma kissed Regina's shoulder and whispered, "Thanks for last night."

Regina dropped Emma's hand like it was full of hot coals. "Yes, well," she said stiffly. "We're doing this for our," her brow furrowed ever so slightly, "son."

Emma tried to ignore the twang of hurt that threatened to crack her determinedly good mood. She just kissed Regina's shoulder again and walked past. "Of course."

**

A shower had to be sacrificed, but even so, Emma was quick in the bathroom to get ready for the day. Back and alone in their bedroom, she frowned when she went into closet and found it was full of only Regina's clothes.

"Huh," Emma said. Maybe, in a fit of upset rage, Regina had got rid of them or donated them or, well, set them on fire out back. Something of the sort. Emma wouldn't be surprised by any of those, or perhaps a scenario she hadn't even thought about. There were no bounds to what Regina would do when she was ... upset. Though, it was quite the same with Emma, as they'd both learned with a certain apple tree incident caused by one of their arguments.

What little Emma had taken with her when she'd left was still at Mary Margaret’s, since her and Regina’s impromptu reunion the night before had been entirely ... unexpected.

Emma took one of the several grey silk blouses from a hanger, and smiled briefly to herself when it slid across her skin, comforting and familiar. She took her red leather jacket off the back of the chair, where Regina had undoubtedly put it after picking it off the floor where Emma had dropped it the night before. With a quick glance at the clock, she hurried out of the room. Shit, she really _was_ going to be late. She was still getting used to having a job with an actual schedule she was supposed to follow.

Just as she was about to bound down the stairs, Henry exited his own room. She saw him and couldn't stop the huge smile that broke across her face. "Hey, kid," she said, and wondered if Regina had explained to him.

By the look of shock on his face, no, no she hadn't.

"What are you doing here?" Henry hissed at her. He glanced down the stairs. "If my mom knew--"

Emma bit back a hurt sigh. She had tried very hard to not persuade Henry to choose sides over the short separation (though she'd been quite sure he was on hers) but that was still a little sting.

"She knows," Emma said, trying for cheerful.

Henry blinked. "She does?"

"Of course."

"Oh." He seemed very confused.

She crouched down in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders, squeezing reassuringly. "You mother and I talked. We're going to try, okay? We really are."

Henry began to smile at that. "Is this part of Operation Cobra?"

"Operation..." Emma laughed. Henry always had had a vivid imagination. "Is that what you called trying to get us back together? I knew you were scheming something."

The smile dropped from his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Your mother and me," Emma said. "I know it's been hard having us be -- apart. But we're working on it, okay, kid? We'll be a family again."

"Again? What?” He looked truly puzzled now. “No! That's not how things are supposed to be! You're both--"

"Henry." Regina's voice cut through the air from the bottom of the stairs. "Is there a problem?"

"Of course not," Emma said. She glanced down at Henry significantly, silently praying he'd keep it to himself, at least for now. Things were fragile enough as it was, they didn’t need another argument to make it worse. "We'll be right down."

"Good," Regina said. "We're all going to be late if you two dawdle any longer." With that, she walked out the front door with a look that said she expected them to follow immediately.

Emma clasped Henry's shoulder and squeezed. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Yeah," Henry answered, "we will."

**

"Henry, that is--" Emma bit back the _crazy_ that was on the tip of her tongue. Dr. Hopper had explained more than once that calling his imaginative ideas that was bad for his therapy.

"Now, now," Dr. Hopper said, pushing his glasses up on his nose, "Henry wanted to talk to you about this rationally, and I think you should listen to him."

Emma dropped down to couch to sit next to Henry. When she had arrived to pick him up, Dr. Hopper had come out of his office to approach her, at Henry's request. He explained that Henry was still having some problems with his mothers' separation, and this was the reasoning he'd come up with. It was best to hear him out so that they could move on.

Now, just moments later, she stared at her son. "You think there's a _second_ spell on this town?"

She'd only recently learned he thought there was a _first_ , and it was a major factor in her and Regina's problems -- they had different ideas on how to help their son with this -- although they'd both made sure he didn't think he was to blame for them being apart. He wasn’t. It was just a difference in opinion on parenting ideas, that was all.

"Yes," he said. "It's making you forget why you're here. It's making _everyone_ forget why you're here."

"I've always been here," she said instinctively, without thinking about her answer.

"No, you haven't. You're _new_ and you're supposed to change things and save us all, but how can you if you don't remember?" Henry's voice was becoming more agitated, as if desperate for Emma to agree and understand what he was saying.

The thing was, she didn't. There was a niggling feeling in the back of her mind, as though what he was saying should make sense, but it just didn't. It couldn’t.

She sighed, and said quietly, "And your mother and I, we're only together because of this spell?"

"Yes!" he answered emphatically. "Miss Blanchard, and Ruby, and Dr. Hopper, I asked all of them today, and they all think you're together too -- or, well, that you've been raising me together but you were recently separated--"

"Just taking a small break, Henry," Emma interrupted. "We told you that."

"But that's not true! You don't raise me together."

"We are _both_ your mothers," Emma said.

"I know, but not together! And I'm the only one who knows this. _Again_ ," he said, sounding very long-suffering. He slumped back on the couch and sighed. "The thing is, I just don't know who is doing this. I don't think Mom -- my other mother -- would, she's much more interested in the first curse. There's another villain out there--"

"All right, that's enough," Emma said. "Your mother is _not_ a villain."

"Maybe she _did_ do this," Henry said, eyes wide. "To make you think that. And maybe she _does_ remember this one too!"

Emma glanced at the doctor, pleading with her eyes for help, before she said something she'd regret. Luckily, he took the cue.

"Henry," Dr. Hopper said gently. "Your parents' separation--"

"Break," Emma said.

"Break," Dr. Hopper amended, "was a very difficult time for you. It's possible that, in your mind, you're trying to come up for a reason for it, some outside force to put the blame on."

"No, it's not that. It’s just that--”

Emma said, “It’s not your fault, kid. You know that.”

“I _do_ ,” Henry said. “I’m not making this up to blame it on _anything_ , it just is!”

"Henry," Dr. Hopper said, gently cutting the boy off. "You need to really think about this, all right? There is no spell that makes your mothers want to be together, they’re together because _they_ choose to be--"

“Ha!” Henry stood up in a huff, grabbing his backpack off the ground and slinging it over his shoulder. "I miss Operation Cobra," he muttered, and made his way out of the office.

“Henry, wait!” Emma stood to follow him, and the doctor gave her an encouraging smile to go after him. She smiled back, but there was a twisting feeling in the depths of her stomach and she didn't understand why.

**

"I will never understand that boy," Regina said as she exited the en-suite bathroom into the bedroom. She was wearing her silk nightgown, black and long with the hems and straps made of lace. She threw her hands out to the side, frustrated. "Two spells! It's either me being evil and casting a spell over the town, or it's me being evil and casting a spell over the town."

"You said the same thing twice," Emma said. She was sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs crossed, back in her own comfortable pajamas. She watched as Regina went over to the dresser and started to take out her pearl earrings.

"Well, doesn't matter what curse it is, I'm the one to blame," Regina said, dropping an earring into a little glass dish. She did the same with the other. "He's an imaginative boy, can't he come up with some new material?"

"Oh, don't be like that," Emma said. "He's just trying to cope with all this. It's difficult."

"He's not the only one it's difficult for," Regina said rigidly. Regina went around to the side of the bed and sat down on the edge, taking a small bottle of hand lotion from the bedside table and squirting some into her palm. She rubbed her hands together. "You don't see me going around blaming it on spells."

"No, you wouldn't. Too rational for that." Emma got to her knees and walked on them across the bed, coming up behind Regina. She put her hand on Regina's bare shoulders, almost hesitantly at first. When Regina didn't say anything, or shrug them off, Emma began a light massage. "But he's just a boy, and Dr. Hopper said--"

"Oh, don't bring up Dr. Hopper with me," Regina said bitterly. "I do not want to talk about that man."

Emma frowned -- she thought Dr. Hopper was great for Henry, especially with his recent approach to therapy. But she didn’t want to argue right now. "Fine," she said shortly, trying to keep a bite out of the tone.

Regina didn't say anything, but she did lean back into Emma's hands and sigh. Her voice was a near whisper, and Emma strained to hear her words. "I'd almost forgotten."

"What?"

"What it was like to not be alone." But as soon as she said the words, Regina sat up straight, easily manoeuvring away from Emma's hands. She glanced over her shoulder at Emma, face blank as stone.

Emma couldn't help but stare -- it wasn't often one got to see Regina like this. Her face was scrubbed clean and all her make up was gone. In the soft lamplight, there was a glow to her. Natural. Even though she was trying to hide any emotion, Emma could see it there in the depths of her eyes. A little vulnerability, and a lot of loneliness.

Emma said softly, "You don't have to be, you know."

Regina opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, and she frowned. Her eyes darted back and forth, as if she was trying to reach something, or remember.

But all she did was stand up and reach for the top of the bedcovers, trying to pull them down. "It's getting late. We should go to sleep."

Emma moved out of the way and did the same on her own side of the bed. Regina didn't say anything else as she turned off the lamp and settled under the covers, back to Emma. But when Emma rolled up behind her and fit herself along her body, Regina sighed and relaxed a little.

**

 

"So, you and Regina, huh?" Sheriff Graham asked.

Emma looked up from her desk, where she was hunched over some paperwork and determining what needed to go into the electronic copy. It was her least favourite part of her new job. She'd much rather be out in the town, walking around and dealing with real things, not just doing write-ups about them. The Sheriff was sitting at a desk too, but apparently not paying any attention to what was in front of him, and instead looking intently at her.

"Uh, yeah," Emma answered, pushing a lock of hair out of her face. "We're -- working on it."

"I think it's great."

Emma rolled her eyes. " _What_?"

"What do you mean, what? I didn't say anything."

"You have a _tone_."

The Sheriff shook his head. "There was no tone."

Emma said flatly, "There was a tone." There definitely was. It sounded like he forced out his words or something. Or like he didn't quite believe it.

He laughed at her. "Whatever you say, Emma. I didn't mean anything bad by it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.

He put up his hands defensively. "It is great -- for both of you, and for Henry. I'm just -- surprised." He nodded to himself, apparently happy with that description.

"Why would you be surprised?" Emma asked. "I mean--" What if he thought it was a curse too? But she shook her head and internally laughed to herself -- her son's imagination was apparently wearing off on her too. "It's just us. Just me and Regina."

"Yeah, well, you're both very -- different," he said diplomatically. "The whole thing is just ... surprising."

To Emma, his tone at the word _surprising_ sounded like it should've been _wrong_ , and she frowned at that. The last thing she needed to do was get into an argument with her boss, and as curious as she was, she really didn't need to add anything else into her unstable relationship.

"You know, a supportive boss would be awesome," she said.

"What? I am. Very. Very supportive." He clapped his hands together once and stood up, and at least had the decency to look slightly abashed. "All right, and this is why we don't talk about personal things at work."

"Talk about awkward, right?" Emma said, unable to keep back a smile at the look on his face.

He smiled back. "Exactly. So, let's just put this behind us. Want to go for a walk?"

" _Yes_ ," Emma said gratefully, and stood up. She made sure her badge was clipped to her jeans (she was still not exactly following the whole 'uniform-rule' but at least he wasn't pushing at it yet), and grabbed her jacket.

Just as they were leaving the station, she pointed down the street. "Coffee."

" _Coffee_ ," he said, sounding just as grateful as she had at the thought of leaving the station. The coffee at the shop was always much better than the awful stuff they had at work. She laughed at him and they walked down the sidewalk, side by side.

**

 

"So, did you find anything out?" Ruby asked as she poured Emma and Sheriff Graham cups of coffee to go.

Yesterday, she had told them about the bright flash of light that she'd seen just outside of town the night before that. She said it had looked like lightning going backwards, up into the sky instead of down.

Emma shrugged. "Just a hole in the ground, but that could've been from anything."

Ruby leaned over to whisper, her cleavage on full display. The Sheriff had the decency to look away and read the menu board for the lunch specials. Emma had to hide a smile but she leaned over to hear Ruby.

"Do you think it's a cult?" Ruby whispered.

Emma couldn't help it, she laughed. Good naturedly, though, because it sounded an awful lot like Henry and his spells. "No," Emma said, shaking her head. "I don't."

Ruby stood up and shrugged, and agreed. "I suppose you're right. Nothing that exciting would happen in this little town anyway."

"Right," Sheriff Graham said, smiling over at them now. "Storybrooke's a quiet, sleepy little town. No excitement here."

"Right," Emma said. Though, she couldn't help thinking of missing John Does and pregnant maids and mines and -- she frowned. She knew there was something she was missing. She added as an afterthought, "It is often full of gossip, though."

"As all small towns are," the Sheriff agreed.

"Speaking of," Ruby said, eyes glinting as she looked at Emma, "you and Regina, huh?"

"And word travels so fast too," Emma muttered under her breath.

"You have your son to thank for that one," Ruby said with a grin. "I think it's great."

Emma blinked at Ruby, her words and tone an exact parroting of the Sheriff's just a few minutes before. "Thanks."

Ruby just smiled and took the Sheriff's bill -- Emma was so distracted she didn't even protest his paying for her coffee.

"You okay?" Sheriff Graham asked quietly as he waited for his change.

She smiled up at him, ignoring the feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Of course."

**

 

All right, so it was a bit of a lie. She was feeling off, and she was still distracted. So much so that she wasn't paying attention around her, and as they left the coffee shop, she very nearly knocked Mr. Gold off his feet on the sidewalk.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, grabbing his elbow to keep him upright.

"Not to worry," Mr. Gold said smoothly. He straightened himself up. "I'm sure you've got a lot on your mind."

"Don't we all?" she said lightly, though the queasiness in her stomach felt stronger rather than dissipating. But she found herself thrown-off any time around Mr. Gold these days, ever since their conversation at the hospital.

"If you please excuse me, I'm about to be late for an appointment," Mr. Gold said.

"Of course," she said, stepping aside.

As he walked by, the Sheriff said something that stopped Mr. Gold. "Are you all right, sir?" Emma glanced over just quick enough to see that Mr. Gold's limp was more pronounced than usual. She hadn't walked into him that hard, had she?

"Oh, I'm fine," Mr. Gold said to the Sheriff. "Just a bit of an unfortunate tumble the other night. Perfectly fine, though." With that, he looked directly at Emma and smiled. "You and Regina, yes?" His smile widened, and his tone was nearly merry. "I think that's great."

With that, he turned, and made his way down the street.

Emma gaped after him, thinking she should say, or ask, something. But when she couldn't form the words, she let herself be lead away by the Sheriff so they could continue their work day.

**

 

She picked Henry up after school. As soon as he got into the car, she said --

"I think something is wrong."

\-- in the same moment that he said --

"I think I figured it out!"

Emma blinked at Henry as he smiled brightly.

"I know where we have to go," Henry said.

She mumbled, "Well, you're one step ahead of me." As she pulled away from the school, she listened to his theory, and pointed the car in the right direction.

**

 

"I still think this is --" Emma cut herself off as she pushed a branch out of the way to continue on the path through the woods.

"Crazy?" Henry supplied cheerfully.

"I didn't mean that," Emma said. She glanced back to make sure Henry was right behind her.

"I know. I knew what you meant."

"Right."

"I should've figured it out sooner," Henry continued on, unperturbed. "I saw the upside down lightning the other night. I thought it was just, you know, you changing things with the curse, like you're supposed to. I was going to tell you the other morning, but I got distracted when I saw you in my house."

 _Our_ house, she wanted to add, instinctively. Now that she (maybe) knew the truth, it didn't seem to fit properly, though, in her own thoughts; it was as if it was overlain on top of them, like a Band-Aid trying to patch things up.

Still, it hurt a little to think that way about her _family_.

"I'll be honest, Henry. I'm not entirely sure I believe this."

"I know," he said, but he didn't sound upset with her. "You're having a hard time believing any of it, but you're coming around."

"I don't know that finding a hole in the ground is going to change anything," Emma said. "Or, what if it's all of us who remember and you don't, and this just makes _you_ remember the right thing? What if we _are_ living as we’re supposed to?”

She heard Henry's footsteps stop behind her. She glanced back and saw his face; he looked a little alarmed, but thoughtful.

Gently, she added, "We can turn back--"

"No," he cut her off. "Whatever it is, the truth needs to get out."

"Even if it's to you?" Emma asked. "Even if it's not what you think it is?"

He hesitated a moment, but then firmly nodded. "Yes."

"That's very grown-up of you," she said, and meant it. If he was willing to accept the possibility that there were no spells or curses, on the town or their family, she'd help him get through it as best she could.

He added confidently, “But I know I’m right,” and she couldn’t help but smile.

They walked in silence a few more minutes. The site they were looking for wasn't that far off the road where she'd parked her car, and she and the Sheriff had been there the day before so she knew what she was looking for.

"Here we are," Emma said. There wasn't even any police tape up -- they didn't see any need for it. For what they could tell, it was just lightning hitting the ground (even though there wasn't an actual storm, but nature could be tricky).

It was just a hole in the ground, about two feet wide and one foot deep. Nothing out of the ordinary, really.

But that didn't stop Henry from running up to it and kneeling down, peering into it. He looked back up at Emma, disappointed. "That's it?"

"Yep," she answered, crouching down beside him. "That's it."

He shoved his hands into the dirt, and it seemed there was a loose layer along the surface of the hole.

"Oh, come on, kid, you're going to get filthy. Your mother is going to flip out."

"She will anyway," Henry said absently. "You took me into the woods without her permission. We'll have to be sneaky when you take me back."

"Henry, I do not need permission," Emma said. Sure, she should've let Regina know where they went, but she never needed permission to spend time with her own son ...

Emma frowned, and that niggling feeling was back, as if letting her know something was wrong with her thoughts, but she couldn’t ascertain what it was.

Henry didn't seem to notice her internal dilemma, he just kept digging around with his fingers, and chattering away. "We can tell her that it's for a science thing at school, or something. Miss Blanchard will back us up, right?"

"I can ask when I go home," Emma said.

Henry froze immediately and looked up at her. "Where's home?"

Emma opened her mouth but snapped it shut when she realised that -- she wasn't sure. For a second, anyway, then she said, "With you and your mother."

"Why would you ask Miss Blanchard there?"

"I meant when I dropped you off at school tomorrow," Emma said uncertainly.

Henry just hummed under his breath and said, "Sure you did," as though he didn't believe her. But then he broke into a grin. "We must be getting close."

"To what?" Emma asked, looking back down at the hole.

Henry shrugged. "I don't know, but something -- Oh!"

"What? Henry, what?" Emma said, and pulled him back so that his hands were out of the ground, making sure he was safe.

"Look," Henry said, pointing his finger but not touching anything else.

Peering down, Emma saw a glint of yellow metal hidden amongst the dirt. "What is that?" she mused aloud. "It looks like a necklace or something."

She reached down to touch it; the rational part of her mind was telling her that if this was a crime scene of some sort, then she should be doing this in a professional way, but another part of her told her that there wasn't anything normal about it at all.

She plucked at the metal and pulled, and they saw that it indeed was a gold chain. But as soon as the ends of it were out of the ground, there was a loud clap that echoed in the trees, and suddenly a bright streak of light that went up into the sky.

Emma heard Henry cry out in alarm, and she thought of him as she flew back in the air and hit something hard. She fell to the ground and everything turned black.

**

 

Emma groaned, blinking her eyes open at the sun that was streaming through the tree branches above her. She tried to move and a spike of pain travelled through the back of her skull.

Someone called out to her. "You're okay!"

Emma glanced over and saw Henry rush to her side, dropping to his knees. He placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder, and she placed her own over his reassuringly. "I'm fine," she said, though she wasn't entirely sure if she was. Her head hurt like a bitch. She looked around the small clearing in the woods; it seemed familiar, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember why she was there.

"Where are we?" Emma said.

"The woods."

She huffed and pushed herself up to her feet, with a little help from Henry. "So I gather. Maybe I should ask why. And have I been out for long?"

"Out?" Henry asked, puzzled.

"Knocked out," she said. She frowned at the tree she had been leaning against.

"Um, you weren't knocked out. Don't you remember? The hole did its lightening thing and you flew back into the tree, but that _just_ happened." He looked around wildly, kicking at the dirt. "I don't know where the gold chain went, though."

"Okay, okay, wait," Emma said, putting up her hands. Henry stopped and glanced up at her hopefully. "We need to get you home. You can explain on the way, all right?"

Henry smiled widely. "You're going to think this is _crazy_ ," he said. When she tried to tell him not to say that, he just laughed at her, though he looked incredibly relieved too.

 

**

 

Emma pulled up in front of Regina's house -- _Regina's_ , not theirs. Henry had excitedly told his story on the way out of the woods, but Emma had a very hard time believing it, even more so than the whole Operation Cobra thing he usually had going on.

Because her and Regina? That -- no. Just no. Right? Right.

"You should come up," Henry said when he opened the passenger door to hop out.

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea," Emma said, shaking her head. "She's just--"

"Going to flip out? Probably," Henry said. "But you can explain the school thing."

Emma frowned at him. "School thing?"

"In the woods for a school project? You were going to have Miss Blanchard help cover up--"

He was cut off as they heard his name being called out, cutting through the evening air in a shrill. They looked over and saw Regina standing on the landing of the house, hands on her hips.

Henry looked at Emma pleadingly, and she sighed as she also pushed open her door.

He bounced up to the house in an unusually chipper mood for the look his mother was giving him, and even Regina seemed a bit surprised as he said happily, "Hi, Mom!" before bounding past her into the house.

"Wait a minute, young man!" Regina called out, following him into the house. She didn't slam the door behind her so Emma took that as an invitation to come inside too.

"Yes?" He looked back at her, positively beaming.

It threw Regina off for a moment, but then she pulled a face again and her hands were back on her hips. "Well? Explain yourself." She whirled around and glared at Emma. "Or perhaps you should explain _yourself_. You can't just take him and disappear--"

Henry cut in, "We were in the woods. Investigating a spell."

"So much for stealth, kid," Emma muttered under her breath.

Regina shot her a look of daggers, but then looked back at Henry, who was beginning to make his way up the stairs to his room. "One minute, young man. We've talked about your ideas of this spell and you have _got_ to stop fooling around with it and move on." She spun around and pointed a finger at Emma. "And _you_ , a grown woman, encouraging these fairy tale spell ideas--"

"Oh, not _the_ spell," Henry interrupted. " _A_ spell. There's a difference."

Regina looked back at him with another surprised look, and Emma couldn't help but smile and think what a good look that was for her, sort of softened her beautiful features somehow.

Emma blinked. _Whoa_ , where did that come from? She coughed and looked away from Regina, down at her own boots.

" _A_ spell," Regina asked, perfectly manicured eyebrow raised. "Henry, enough of these games--"

"Everyone thought you and Emma were my mothers. Together. She even stayed in your bedroom the last two nights--"

"Wait a minute," Emma interrupted. She couldn't stop the little uneasy laugh that spilled out of her mouth, and Regina looked completely shocked. "Henry, we'd both remember if something like that happened."

"I'd say," Regina muttered under her breath, and Emma couldn't help but huff a small laugh. Regina almost looked amused now, which Emma took as a good sign. But her tone was hard when she spoke to Henry. "Up to your room and work on your homework. I do not want to hear another word about this nonsense."

"But, Mom--"

"Now, Henry. And not another word about _any_ of it."

Regina waited until Henry was upstairs before she turned on Emma and started poking a finger in her direction. "And _you_ , I've told you to stop encouraging him. And it is absolutely _unacceptable_ to take him into the woods--"

Emma held up her hands defensively, especially when Regina started stalking closer to her. "I should've called," she agreed. "I'm sorry."

Her stomach felt uneasy because she didn't remember much, if anything, from the last couple of days. That was a whole lot more unsettling than the look Regina was giving her right then, and she didn't particularly have the energy to fight with her _again_.

"Yes, you should've," Regina said, right up in Emma's face, which was -- okay, that was a little unexpected and Emma's stomach rolled again. "The woods! Just what were you two doing there, and if you dare say a _thing_ about a spell--"

"He said it was for a school project," Emma said. It wasn't exactly a lie, it _was_ one of the things Henry had mentioned at some point. “It’s possible it really was.”

"He needs to inform me," Regina said, and there was anger in her voice. "Not _you_. I'm his mother, what right do you have--"

Anger spiked in Emma, and she glared at Regina. "I'm his mother too, and he probably just didn't want to bother you and take you traipsing through the woods, you ever think of that? Will you stop thinking about yourself for once and think about what's good for our son--"

"Oh, when are you going to come up with some new material?" Regina snipped at her.

Emma’s heart stuttered at the familiar words, this familiar argument. She wanted to fight back, lash out, _anything_ to hurt Regina the way Regina was always hurting her, but more than anything she wanted to--

\-- Emma reached out and grabbed the collar of Regina's silk blouse and pulled her towards Emma. Instead of resisting or freaking out, Regina surged forward with it and pressed her mouth against Emma's. It was hard and angry, teeth clashing as they each tried to get the upper hand. But then Regina's hands gripped Emma's hips, pushing her up against the wall, a thigh pressed between Emma's legs, and their lips slid into place; still rough and a little desperate, but perfect and it felt like coming home.

Regina's tongue pushed into Emma's mouth, and Emma moaned when one of Regina's hands gripped Emma's hair, tugging and tipping her head back.

Regina pulled back a little, their lip contact broken, and rocked her hips against Emma's. Their moans tangled in the thin air between them; but the sound of it was like an alarm, a warning, that something was wrong, that this wasn't--

They both paused, their limbs that were twined together frozen in place. Emma's eyes swept over Regina's face; her pupils were so wide her eyes nearly looked black, her cheeks painted with a pink flush, and her usual perfect red lipstick messed and smeared around her mouth.

Emma removed her hand from where it was cupped at the underside of Regina's breast and wiped the back of it against her own mouth; it came away with some red lipstick on it.

Regina's eyes were round as she looked at Emma’s mouth, and then suddenly she let go of Emma, stepping several feet away. She said, voice slightly shaking, "Get out of my house."

"I've heard that before," Emma said, and she couldn't believe the sound of her own voice. Low, teasing, a little seductive. "But do you ever really mean it?" And she had no idea where this was coming from, but it sounded right, sounded exactly like what she _should_ be saying, even though she knew it wasn't so as soon as the words left her mouth.

Regina must've thought so too, looking at Emma with conflict across her face. "Where is _this_ \--" she waved a shaking hand between the two of them "-- coming from?"

Henry's voice floated in the air above them. "It must be an after effect of the curse!"

They both looked up, but they didn't see Henry anywhere. Emma had to hold back a laugh as she said, "We always said we wouldn't do this in front of him."

"I know," Regina said agreeably. They both froze as they assessed each other again, and Emma was certain her own shock was mirrored in Regina's face. Regina called out briskly, "Henry, close your door and mind your own business. And do your homework!"

They heard Henry's sigh, but then there was a sound of a closing door.

Emma and Regina were quiet for a moment, each determined in not looking at each other. Emma pushed herself off the wall, legs feeling unsteady. "I should go," she said.

"Yes, you should," Regina said tightly, but followed Emma to the door and closed it softly behind her.

As Emma walked down the driveway, she tried her hardest to calm her pounding heart and push away a feeling of sorrow that was slowly seeping through her; it felt all too familiar, but she knew it wasn't real. It couldn't be. And if what Henry said was true and it was all an after effect of a spell she couldn't even remember -- well, then, this feeling would fade away.

She tried to convince herself that as she drove away.

 

**

 

Emma opened the door to the small apartment, and instantly felt better when she saw Mary Margaret washing dishes at the sink. "Hey," Emma said, closing the door and pulling off her jacket. "How're you?"

Mary Margaret looked at her with concern. "How are _you_? And where have you been?"

"Been?" Emma asked. She shrugged. "Working, and then I took Henry -- oh, if Regina asks tomorrow, could you say Henry had a school project thing to do that required wandering around in the woods?" At Mary's confused look, Emma waved a hand absently. "It's a thing."

"You've been gone for two days," Mary Margaret said. "I figured you were all right, or whatever, but -- you _are_ all right, right?"

Emma blinked at her, surprised. "Two days -- I haven't been, have I?"

"Well, you weren't here, and I thought -- well, I didn't want to bother you and you're a grown up, of course, and--"

"Work," Emma said. That uneasy feeling was in her stomach again, though it didn't feel quite as powerful as before. Still, she didn't want to lie to Mary Margaret, but she didn't want to worry her either. "Slept at the station. I'll call next time."

"Oh, no, it's okay," Mary Margaret said, suddenly looking embarrassed. "You don't have to -- it's not like I'm your mother," she added, and laughed.

Emma laughed along awkwardly, forcing a smile to her face. "Right. Well, I am sorry. But ..." She trailed off and bit her lip, wondering if she should ask.

Mary Margaret smiled. "Yes?"

"Do you remember the last two days?" Emma blurted out. God, she sounded stupid, but luckily Mary Margaret was a patient and kind person, and didn't seem to think something was out of the ordinary. Still, Emma added, "I mean, how're you? Anything new and exciting happening?"

Mary Margaret only laughed. "Not exactly words to describe life in Storybrooke."

"So I hear," Emma said. "Although, I also hear more is happening lately." _Since I've been here_ , a little voice in the back of her head said, but it sounded an awful lot like Henry so Emma didn't voice it.

"Yeah," Mary Margaret said, her mouth quirking up into a half smile. "Yeah, I suppose it has." But then she shrugged. "But nothing much in the past couple days. Heard there was weird lightning," she said.

"Yeah, me too," Emma said blandly. "Mother Nature out there having a good time and all that."

"Guess so," Mary Margaret said with a sweet laugh. "But other than that -- same old, same old. Other than you--" Mary Margaret frowned "-- not being around."

"Yeah," Emma said, but left it at that. "Hey, you want a drink?"

"Hot cocoa?"

"I was thinking something a little stronger than that," Emma said, and pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the cupboard.

Mary Margaret laughed. "Deal."

 

**

 

The next morning, Emma felt a lot better. Sure, she had one moment where she felt a bit off when she was walking past the Mayor's office, and she had convinced herself it was a trick of the light that the drapes had been pulled closed when she looked over at the window, but other than that -- yeah, she felt better. Surprisingly so, and she couldn't help but smile as she walked down the streets of Storybrooke.

Coming out of the coffee shop, though, she nearly knocked over Mr. Gold and that was -- well, a weird moment of déjà vu, but she apologised profusely.

He gave her an odd look. It wasn't unwelcoming, exactly, but it was as if didn’t know what to make of her.

"You're a bit of an oddity for Storybrooke, aren't you?" he said, polite as always but it felt as though he was trying to find out something.

"I -- guess so," Emma said, unsure how to respond to that.

"Yes, I suppose so too," Mr. Gold said. Emma shifted uncomfortably at the assessing look he gave her. He didn't seem to notice and continued. "Since you're not from --" he smiled, but it didn't look very happy "-- around here."

"No, I'm not. I'm still learning about everything, and everyone," Emma said.

"Yes, I suppose you are," he said quietly. In a sudden change of topic, he added, "Back at Miss Blanchard's, are you?"

"Yep," Emma answered. There was a moment of awkward silence, and there was a weird twisting in her stomach that was starting to feel all too familiar. She wasn’t sure she liked it. Finally, she said, "And I hate to be rude, but I'm on my way to work."

"Of course," he said, tilting his head graciously. "Have a good day, Miss Swan."

"You too," she said, and walked past him. It wasn't until she was around the corner that she paused, and glanced over her shoulder; but, of course, Mr. Gold was long gone. She muttered to herself, " _Back_ at Miss Blanchard's?"

But then she shook her head, tried to push the feeling of ill-ease from her mind, and carried on her way to the station. She had work to do.

~end


End file.
